The Meaning of Death
by AemiliaeHistoriam
Summary: Nico Di Angelo is sick of life. Why keep on living with the mortals and demigods when the ghosts below are much easier to socialize with? While he's in his old hometown, he starts to realize some of the most important things about himself. Can a certain legacy of Mars help him through his confusion? OOC-ness. Rated T for slight violence and language.
1. Angels

**Hi. This can be placed in the community "The Shittiest Percy Jackson/Hetalia Crossover Fanfictions on Earth" if you'd like. I don't really care since the first part is from a year ago.**

** DISCALIMER: THE HEROES OF OLYMPUS SERIES BELONG TO RICK RIORDAN. IF I OWNED IT, IT WOULD SUCK. I DO NOT OWN VENICE, I DO NOT OWN HETALIA XD**

_ Leo thinks he's the seventh wheel but in truth, he's lucky. More lucky than I ever will be. I seem to blend into the shadows more than I want to. I fear I may be forever alone but it's probably my own fault. I can't face that fear of...well...rejection. I just **can't** handle it! The skeletons surround me and hide me from anyone that might care. I gave up the hopeof being accepted **long **ago._

_ I lost my mother, I lost Bianca...What more do I have to lose? I'm an outcast. Son of Hades. Italian. Born in the 20th century but only a disillusioned teenager. A freak. A hopeless romantic. Nothing more than a piece of furniture that happens to come in handy during battle. _

_ My love for Percy Jackson sealed my fate. So that leaves me, my feelings, and those damn shadows that surround me. _

_ I, Nico Di Angelo, am forever alone..._

_ **...But for how long?**_

_###_

A pale, raven-haired boy wandered through the streets of Venice, praying to every god he could think of that he wouldn't be noticed by any of the townsfolk. This place seemed so...different from when he was younger, but so hauntingly familiar. _How long could one city stay so timeless for so many years?_

Ugh, he didn't have time for this shit called reminicing - _especially right now._

###

Nico Di Angelo tried to act like a normal tourist, he really did - but when you're on the verge of getting eaten by several large and disgusting cyclopi, you want nothing more than to scream your face off and run away.

You might say _"Nico could fight them off, duh! He's, like, the most amazing demigod in the history of the world! You of all people should know that! You're a fucking fanfiction writer damn you!"_ But Nico obviously _couldn't_..._Not with a broken arm._

_This is plain shit, _Nico thought to himself, wincing from the pain of his wounded arm. Unfortunately, he had also been stupid enough to forget ambrosia. _What do I do now?!_ Poor Nico could even _smell_ the stench - a mix of puke, trash, and Italian spices - of the damn thing, even from...what was it? Two miles away? A little less? He couldn't tell. He didn't care anymore.

_If being thousands of miles away from all the other demigods wasn't bad enough..._

"For Hades' sake fine!" He shouted at nothing in particular. " I give up! Just kill me now so I don't have to suffer!"

_ Silence._ No rumbling from the sky and not even the rustling of the earth. _Shit. I'll probably be deemed a lunatic sooner or later. _A few people passing by stared at him, but not for long. Soon the troubled teen seemed to blend into the backdrop, leaving the pedestrians with nothing to do but to go on their merry ways. The curse of Hades..._again._

_ And why should I care? _He asked himself. _People are helpless. They're clueless. I don't care about them and they don't care about me. So what's the point of worrying about mortals?_

_ You're mother was a mortal, _a voice whispered in his head.

Oh yeah..._Duh..._

It sounded selfish, but he really wasn't being chased all the way to his old hometown for the sake of the camp. It was more like a ticket to suicide that could be seen as partly honorable. His thread of life had been worn so thin, maybe it was a better idea not to suffer anymore...Over his lost siblings...Over..._him. _Just looking at all of the canals made him want to punch himself. More reminders of _him_. Nico didn't need to be reminded of his own twisted identity. Oh, for the love of Zeus, it_ was_ about time he served his father for eternity without ever living at that cursed camp again.

Breaking out of his pitiful thoughts, Nico noticed how disturbingly quiet the usually bustling town was. An eagle, that for some strange reason reminded him of Frank, flew above his head and squawked a warning, then dived back into the sea. _Woah, wait a sec...the sea? _Demigods saw some of the oddest things, so it wasn't out of place - but just seeing that one bird weirded Nico out so much that he lost focus of the situation at hand.

_And that monster was almost upon him..._A.K.Aseveral _million_ feet away_. _He didn't dare turn around to face it, but he could still sense its aura.

After taking a deep breath, Nico Di Angelo convinced himself he was willing for this fate to fall upon him. He'd die fearlessly for the camp that wouldn't give a damn - he only cared since Camp Half-Blood was his beloved sea prince's home. His last words spoken would be meaningless and the camp would burn a fucking piece of cloth..._I mean_ _a shroud..._in his honor. Death wasn't that bad - of course it wasn't to him. Death was death..._Hades...and Hades meant..._

He almost wasn't paying attention when one of the cyclopi swiped at him with his ugly fist. Nico ducked, but almost got pulverized. It wasn't the blow that had hurt him, it was that swirl of thoughts prodding and distracting him.

His heart rattled against his ribs.

Fear made him realize something he had known deep down in his heart a long time ago: _He didn't want to end his life so short, only a teen. He wanted to live normally, with no burden on his shoulders. But more than that, he wanted one more chance at life. He loved his camp, even if everyone hated him. He enjoyed hanging out with his friends - even though they didn't talk to him._

But now he was half dead - bloody and beaten from this monster.

_ It's my own damn fault_, he thought to himself - a tear blurring his vision. _I'll never get out of here alive. Only a miracle could help me now._

_ Of course, now he was doomed. His vision was important in this fuck. _All he could see was the blood and gore smeared onto those monsters. He could sense their hunger and their longing for the taste of his skin.

One of them, the ugliest one, lifted Nico's limp body up to his single, lustful eye. "Time for dinner."

"Go to Tartarus." Nico muttered weakly.

The eye just seemed to get scarier by the second. "Feisty, aren't you."

"You're the one saying that." Nico hissed. "Hypocrite."

"Tsk...You're just an annoying little demigod. Maybe I'll save you for my family potluck Saturday morning." Nico could see all the teeth missing in his smile. "It'll be so fun! Would you like to be fried or..."

"_A-Ahem._" A new voice cut in nervously.

Nico turned to stare at the newcomer...or should I say _newcomers?_ They were obviously brothers, though one looked older than the other. They were both young...and scrawny...And they were both carrying white flags - though the shorter one looked the most innocent. _Were they idiots? Could they see through mist that heavy - and if they could, why were they approaching the beasts?!_

"I believe you one-eyed _bastards _are fucking stepping on my beloved tomato garden." He ran one hand through his auburn hair and then stuck his middle finger obscenely in the largest monster's face. "Would you _mind_ dropping that damn kid and moving out of the fucking way!?"

The monsters were obviously too shocked to reply. _How dare this young __**kid **__come and badmouth their actions! What did he know?! Who did he think he was?!"_

"I can handle this myself." Nico protested to the two young men, even though he couldn't possibly save himself now. "I'm used to this kind of stuff! I swear! Just...Stay out of it if you treasure your life."

"Don't worry about it~!" The seemingly-younger, paler one giggled. "We're experienced in this type of situation too~!" He pulled out a square of ambrosia from his pocket and chucked it at the other. "Fratello, take care of him for me. I'll deal with them."

And with that, the seemingly "innocent" kid took on six ten-foot-tall cyclopes.

**Hiya! XD How is this so far? I haven't read Percy Jackson for a LOOONG time so he has a 99.9% chance of being OOC...but...Who cares? XD **

** Okay, So I always had this idea that Nico was kinda suicidal and such - so with that - not to mention this is lightly influenced by another PJ/Hetalia crossover - began the story of his chat with North Italy. Italy may be an an airhead but he's not completely stupid. XD **

** This will either end up being a two shot or a three shot...I don't know. XD It depends.**

** Wish me luck! **

** ~ Emil**


	2. Of Venice

** Hey guys. I'm positively stuck on Artificial Paradise and 21 Guns. I don't know exactly where I'm taking this but I know I'm going to do something. XD Please help me guys, and tell me if I should write another Heroes of Olympus/Hetalia crossover...Maybe Frank and China...**

** DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THESE FANDOMS.**

It was the next day when Nico realized he had fainted. The sight of that little seemingly-cowardly young man turning all of the monsters to dust so easily was such a shock to him that it must've given him a headache big enough to knock him out. _What_ _had just happened? _That man couldn't have been human...maybe super human but not human. Maybe he was half god like Nico was or maybe...

_"Nico?" _A soft voice called his name. It reminded him of home and the warmth of the hearth...Maybe even his mother. It was as if the speaker was casting a bittersweet spell on him - helping him forget all his pain.

_ But Nico wasn't fooled. _He kicked frantically at the sugar-coated voice until he was sure that he had hit his mark.

"_DIO! _WHAT THE _FUCK_! WE AREN'T TRYING TO HURT YOU!" A different voice shrieked...possibly the one obsessed with his tomato garden. "_JEEZ, _KID!"

"Fratello~!" The softer, hypnotic voice protested. "He just woke up. Don't scare him."

"HE'S THE ONE SCARING _ME_, GODDAMMIT!"

Nico opened one eye to see the two brothers who had saved his life sitting on the edge of the bed. Ugh. He had just barely recovered and now he had to see those idiots? "I'm fine. Just keep it down. Sheesh."

"You're awake~!" Hypnotic Italian monster # 1 - the one who had attacked the cyclopi- cheered. "That's wonderful! I almost ran out of bandages for you, you were bleeding so much~!"

_I had been...bleeding? I can't even remember how I had got here,_ _much less remember the details of my injuries. _"Um...Thanks..."

"You're the son of Hades, aren't you~?" The man continued. "That's totally cool~! I've never met a demigod of the big three before~!"

Nico didn't answer. What the heck was going on? This interrogation was getting kind of..._personal._ Was this kid some sort of monster something or other? _How did he know so much about Nico? Was he a god in disguise?_

"Romano's gonna make you some pasta now and I'll be here to watch you until it's done. You're gonna love our homemade pasta~! I'll rewrap your wounds since the bandages are probably dirty by now."

Nico groaned, these people were definitely Italian. Though he was looking forward to the pasta, part of him worried that if he let his guard down, he'd be dead in an instant. He didn't feel the least bit safe alone with the one that reminded him of home either. These people might be terrible, _terrible_ monsters that were cooking pasta with Nico in it, but he reluctantly allowed the young Italian treat his arm. "Who exactly _are_ you?"

The man glanced up from his wound wrapping for an instant to lock his amber eyes with Nico's obsidian ones. "Italy Veneziano, but you can call me Feliciano Vargas if you want ~! My fratello's name is Italy Romano but everyone calls him Lovi~!"

_Italy Veneziano. Seriously? _

"I mean_ what _are you."

Feliciano smiled, his face holding an air of mystery about them. "The two of us have represented Italy for a _long _time - _for what seems like the dawn of time._ We're personifications of countries as well as legacies of our grandfather. It's quite normal if you ask me~!"

_ What wait?! Personified countries? _Nico had lived his in weird - but this was...well...Absolutely insane. Chiron had never told the camp about these beings... _Could this world get any weirder?! _

"Yeah. _Sure. _I totally believe that." Nico answered sarcastically.

_ "It's true~!" _

There was something about that man that made Nico know that he wasn't lying in the least. Maybe it was that innocent, white aura surrounding his entire being, or maybe it was Nico's gravitational pull towards what felt like home. Whatever it was, it was too strong to resist. "I-I believe you..."

Feli just smiled again and continued on with his work, his hands deftly wrapping the bandages as if it were his hobby since Chaos. That just added another question into Nico's exhausted mind -_ How could such an innocent being be such a good fighter?_ It was _insanity_ the way he had taken each of those monsters down. It had to, just _had_ to be genetics...nothing else.

"H-Hey Vargas." Nico asked tentatively.

"Yes~?"

"Who is your grandfather? You said you were a legacy of your grandfather."

Feli laughed. "My Nonno isn't a god, if that's what you were thinking. His father is...so I guess he's my great grandfather."

Nico's ears perked up at that. "Who's your great grandfather?"

"_Mars_." Feli answered, still smiling. It was a timeless smile, one that had never aged and never would age. Something more than a mortal's or demigod's. "I guess it's ironic since my brother and I aren't very war-like. But I do know we're legacies of Mars, it's obvious."

"How?" Nico asked, confused by all the information his mind was receiving.

"Rome was born when two twin brothers, sons of Mars, found land near the hills and started building a wall. My grandfather was Rome so that makes us the legacies of Mars."

_Oh duh..._

"You have a point." Nico admitted.

"Yeah~!"

There was silence for awhile. Silence that was only interrupted by the shouts coming from the other room - probably Lovino freaking out about his tomatoes or maybe the pasta was boiling over or something. But then they died down, leaving Nico pondering about his life.

He knew he had always been different from everyone else - always fading into the backdrop and freaking people out when they least expected it. He had thought it was about them..._but maybe not..._

_ Had you ever tried to be included? _A voice inside his head asked him.

_ Did you ever take the risk? _

Nico couldn't just expect them to be nice and do so just for the sake of being a good person. Maybe..._Ugh! Voice, just shut up! Stop making me feel so confused!This is another reason I should've just died! These thoughts..._Nico gripped his head, feeling the headache coming back. _Gods! What's wrong with me today!_

"_Nico, _are you okay?" Feliciano asked, a hint of panic in his voice.

"I'm _fine_!" Nico shouted. "Seriously! It's just side effects! I-I just had a question..."

"What is it?" After setting down Nico's arm, Feliciano folded his hands over his chest and waited for the answer. He looked so inviting that Nico's fears dissipated.

"V-Vargas..." Nico said, trying to keep the embarrassment from his voice. "Have you ever wanted to die? Y-you _are _immortal, right?"

Silence.

_Maybe that wasn't a good question to ask him, _Nico thought in a panic._ The kid...or Italy obviously wasn't as safe as he seemed. One bad word could trigger him into..._

"_Yes...I have_." Feli looked down at his hands, which were still folded across his lap.

"Really?" Nico asked in amazement. Maybe countries weren't that super human after all.

"Though we are not immortal, we live until our country 'dies' in war. We can't die from injuries...Being one of these beings...it's very hard not to lose your sanity...Germany lost his during World War II, though he's okay now..."

_ World War II...? Oh yeah..._

"But it's our duty to our country not to collapse from stress." Feli continued. "We must not kill the pride of our people - that is our duty. As for you, your time is shorter than mine. _Enjoy it _to the fullest, even if you fall on hard times. We, as countries, have gone through numerous trials...hundreds, most likely thousands. We're used to it by now. _So please, Nico, _stay _strong_ and think of the countries around you. Know that you're not alone~!"

Nico didn't know what to say. What_ could_ he say to a monologue like that? The world seemed to glow with a new light - shining down from Olympus. "T-thanks...I'll remember it."

"FOR THE LAST _FUCKING _TIME: DINNER HAS BEEN READY FOR THE PAST_ DAMN _FIVE MINUTES!" Romano shouted from the kitchen.

Feli grinned, that childish aura back. "Good! Let's go see if Fratello's ready with the pasta~!

Nico obliged and followed Feliciano into the kitchen where Lovino was cooking. He took a deep breath in, then let it out slowly.

_Home_...That's where he was...

_ Home._

** Sorry, tacky ending, no? **

** So I had this no-so-genius idea that Lovi and Feli were legacies of Mars...It makes sense, you know?! So that's how this story turned out.**

** Nico is still childish. He's old but he still has that same naivety.**

** Feli just got VERY OOC right there O_O I think of him more as timeless and an idiot. Like...maybe childish but not so childish as to act like it with his people around.**

** I was thinking of writing a sequel, but for our Chinese-Candian Zhang instead of Nico. Wouldn't you like to see Matthieu and Yao? I would like your opinions :)**

** Thanks guys :)**


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